All You Had To Do Was Stay
by dragonwings948
Summary: Two weeks after Rumplestiltskin leaves Storybrooke, Belle journeys back to their house and is reminded of the question, "What would you say to him now?" Set after the midseason finale. One-shot based off of "All You Had To Do Was Stay" by Taylor Swift.


**A/N: This is part of my Taylor Swift's 1989 fanfics project! Several of her songs from the album reminded me of ships or friendships, so I'm setting out to write 6 fics across different fandoms for 6 of the songs from 1989. This is the second in the "series." **

**I heard this song just after I watched the midseason finale and it made me cry because it was too soon. Rumbelle instantly came to mind. I included a good portion of the lyrics below, but the entire song is literally just Rumbelle. **

**I'm sorry in advance.**

**Also, I don't own Once Upon a Time or this song. In case you were wondering. **

* * *

_People like you always want back the love they gave away_

_And people like me wanna believe you when you say you've changed_

_The more I think about it now, the less I know_

_All I know is that you drove us off the road_

**_Hey, all you had to do was stay_**

**_Had me in the palm of your hand _**

**_Man, why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in_**

**_Hey, now you say you want it _**

**_Back, now that it's just too late_**

**_Well, could've been easy_**

**_All you had to do was stay_**

_Here you are now calling me up_

_But I don't know what to say_

_I've been picking up the pieces of the mess you made_

_People like you always want back the love they pushed aside_

_But people like me are gone forever when you say goodbye_

* * *

Belle woke with a gasp, crushing her bed sheets in her fists as she took in her surroundings. She inhaled a deep breath as she found herself in her familiar apartment. Her heart began to slow from its rapid pace.

The nightmare was already fading, but there was one person she was sure had been in it; the same man who had haunted all of her dreams since her life had been changed two weeks ago.

His face consumed her mind. As fate would have it, she didn't remember him happy as he gazed her, excited as he told her about his son, or even his Enchanted Forest self pleased as he came back from a profitable deal. No, every time she thought of him, his expression appeared wretched, contorted with sadness.

_"Please, Belle," _she heard him saying in a broken voice.

Belle pushed the onslaught of memories as far away as she could. She wasn't about to let the past, or Rumplestiltskin, define who she was. She was Belle…French, the hero and librarian, and nothing or no one could change that.

She stretched and set her feet on the ground, wiggling her toes into the soft carpet. If all went to plan, she would never wake up in this apartment again. Today was the day she moved back into their…_her _house.

Two weeks. She had lived on her own for that long, putting the librarian's apartment to good use again. Ruby had brought her clothes. Mary Margaret had been kind enough to supply her with food. And though she had no doubt they would continue to care for her, she knew it was time to get over her aversion to the house she had spent so many blissfully happy days in.

_ What would you say to him?_

The phrase came out of nowhere. The burning question. The one Archie had asked when she had gone to see him a few days after it happened. It was always in the back of her mind, waiting to be answered.

_If you saw Rumplestiltskin again, _Dr. Hopper had asked, his face lined with concern and eyes full of compassion, _what would you say to him? _

She still didn't have an answer. She had told Rumplestiltskin everything before he crossed the town line. She had nothing left to say.

And yet…what would she say? If, somehow, the curse over the line was broken and he came back, how would she react? What would she say to him?

Belle shook her head. It wasn't time to think about that right now. Maybe tonight, when she made her journey, she would consider those things. But for now, she had a library to run.

* * *

It looked just the same as it always had.

In Belle's imagination, the house had changed like their love had. She had pictured it cold, desolate, dark…nothing like the warmth it had meant to her before. And yet, it looked just the same, unchanged from when she had last been here two weeks previous.

She clutched the small purse hanging at her side, carrying her meager amount of belongings that didn't currently reside in the house or the shop. She unzipped it and fished around inside until she pulled out a ring of four keys. Belle swallowed hard, steeled her jaw, and walked up to the door.

The key to the house shone a bright gold, twinkling in the dim light of the streetlamp. Belle gazed at it for a moment before inserting it into the door handle. She turned the key and the lock clicked.

Belle pressed her lips together and pushed the door open.

Much like the outside of the house, everything was just as she had left it; neat and tidy. She didn't want to go any further, to find the remnants of the happiest days of her life. But, slowly placing one foot in front of the other, she did.

Her eyes locked onto the green couch in the living room. A fluffy yellow blanket laid pushed aside at one end of the cushions. Belle closed her eyes like that would keep the memory from resurfacing, but it didn't.

_"The movie's ready!" Belle sang, proud that she had figured out how to work the DVD player all on her own this time. She sat back on the couch, looking to the kitchen and seeing Rumplestiltskin smiling at her. _

_ Rumple glanced at the microwave, where popping noises were sounding at regular intervals. "The popcorn is almost done." As if on cue, the popping slowed, and a few moments later the microwave beeped. Rumple grabbed the popcorn bag and poured it into a large bowl_

_ "See?" Rumple said as he carried the popcorn over to the couch. "I knew that you could figure out the DVD player." He sat down next to her, passing the bowl into her hands. _

_ "I did have an excellent teacher," she said, grinning up at him as she snuggled into his side. _

_ Rumple laid his arm across her shoulders and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He gently squeezed her shoulder. "I love you, Belle." _

The boisterous ring of her phone yanked Belle out of her memory. She sucked in a sharp intake of breath, though it hitched in her throat and became a soft sob. Belle swallowed hard against the tightness in her throat and blinked away the blurriness of her eyes.

The phone rang again and Belle sighed, digging into her purse until she clutched the vibrating device in her hand. She glanced down at the caller ID and froze. She could have sworn her heart stopped beating altogether.

_Rumple. _Why now? To say he was sorry yet again? To make her feel sorry for him after she had been picking up the pieces of his mess for two weeks?

None of it would work. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forgive him.

_What would you say to him?_

Her fingertips blushed a bright red as she clutched the phone in her grasp. If he would have stayed as the man he truly was… If he would have just stayed with her rather than trying to gain more power…

She let her fingers relax as it came to her.

_All you had to do was stay; stay who you were, stay with me. _

It was as simple as that.

Belle clicked the button to ignore the call and stuffed the phone back into her purse. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared her mind of the man who had broken her heart.


End file.
